


wanna take you everywhere i go

by Jakowic



Category: The Hollow (Cartoon)
Genre: Highschool AU, Homecoming, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 00:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17714264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakowic/pseuds/Jakowic
Summary: Kai grabs Adam's hand while they're sitting in the movie theater together. Adam's heart pounds.This is platonic, right? Friends do this. Right?





	wanna take you everywhere i go

**Author's Note:**

> i was asked to answer prompt 18. (“This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.”) on a tumblr prompt challenge thing.

Adam is in a constant state of stress; his neck and shoulders are tight with worry because of high school and Michigan and Kai standing  _right there_  and laughing. He’s talking to Skeet, his hands in his pockets, backpack at his feet and he’s smiling. Even from twenty feet away Adam knows his right cheek is dimpled.

“Found you,” Mira says, appearing at his side. “Finally.”

“I wasn’t hiding,” Adam snarks, still watching Kai. Mira tracks the line of his gaze, rolling her eyes when she sees him. 

“No, just stalking the baseball captain again.”

“It’s not stalking. We’re friends,” he protests, finally turning to face her. 

She shakes her head lightly. “Adam, dude, you’ve been pining since freshman year.”

“Shut up,” Adam responds. They’ve only been friends since freshman year. There’s no room to pine when you’re  _friends_ because in some aspect, at least, Kai occupies a space in Adam’s life. 

“Whatever,” Mira says. “Do you think Reeve would go to homecoming with me?”

Adam glances at her sideways. “Reeve?”

She shrugs. “I would ask you, but, you know,” she purposefully cuts her eyes in Kai’s direction. Adam scowls.

“You should ask him,” Mira continues, oblivious. 

“No way,” Adam says. He glances Kai’s way and catches his eyes. Kai waves enthusiastically across the hall and Adam meekly raises his hand in response. The thing is Adam turns to liquid around Kai, everything that makes him cool to the rest of the student body deserts him in a heartbeat when Kai looks at him from across the classroom and mouths  _hello_. 

“Okay,” Mira says slowly, watching the whole thing. “I heard that Vanessa was thinking about it, anyway.”

Adam watches as Vanessa slides up to Skeet and Kai, sliding her arm through his and grinning, nodding like she knows what’s going on. Adam grits his teeth and revises his earlier plans.

“I’ll think about it.”

–

He does. Obsessively. His calculus professor has to call his name four times before he responds, then he gets the question wrong. On his way out Reeve stops him at the door.

“Are you alright?”

“Hi, Reeve,” Adam says. “Have you seen Mira?”

Reeve’s eyes narrow in sharp suspicion. “What? Why?”

“No reason,” Adam says, backing away, arms tightening around his textbook. “I gotta get to English.”

Adam escapes, and stops at the base of the stairs, glancing between the hall and the doors that lead to the parking lot. He makes a split-second decision, ditching his last class of the day. 

He texts Mira.

_I think I need your help_

_no_ she says immediately.

 _Mira_ he texts _come on. It’s Kai_

 _fine_ she sends, then _i’m in class ya dip smell ya later_

Later, when class actually lets out, she calls him. Adam explains, half-heartedly, his idea. 

“Oh,” Mira says, “oh wow.”

“You like it?” Adam asks.

“Oh, oh, no,” she says. “This is – without a doubt –  _the_  stupidest plan you’ve ever had.”

“Are you in or out?” Adam snaps, irritated.

“Of  _course_  I’m in,” she says. 

–

Kai has a game on Friday so Adam gets everything together by Friday. Reeve grabs his elbow on his way into calculus. 

“Dude,” Reeve says. “I had no idea.”

“That I’m gay,” Adam says flatly.

“What? No. Everyone knew that.” he waves his hands. “Just… it’s Kai. He’s captain of the baseball team. You do the trivia team for fun.”

“You are aware I’m a starter on the soccer team,” Adam says. “And Kai does robotics.”

“Yeah,” Reeve says. “Whatever. You do _the trivia team_. For _fun_.”

“Okay,” Adam says, heading for his seat. “Good talk, Reeve.”

“The  _trivia team_ ,” Reeve says behind him, anguished. 

–

He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s so nervous he’s gonna mess this up, hands deep in his pockets as he talks Mira’s ear off, verbally pouring all his angst on her. What if Kai doesn’t want to be friends after this? What if it all falls apart? What if Vanessa and Kai really-

“Adam,” Mira interrupts. She rolls her eyes at him. “You’re literally wearing his letterman. Shut up.”

Adam glances down at himself. “Well. He asked me to. Oh, come on,” he adds defensively when she just stares at him blankly. “It’s not like that. Maybe.” he glances nervously at the field. 

“Jesus Christ,” Mira mutters. 

Adam opens his mouth to snark at her but Reeve and Skeet slide into the seat next to Adam, bundled up and looking tired. He glances at them, then leans forward and counts all the people, making sure they’re in place.

“Hi, loverboy,” Reeve says.

Skeet says, “I call best man at your wedding.”

“Excuse me,” Mira yelps, hand to her heart like she’s been wounded. “Who will I be?”

“No offence, Mira,” Skeet says, “but I’d write a better speech.”

“Knock it off,” Reeve says. “The game’s starting.”

Baseball is actually painfully boring at parts, but Reeve’s one of those competitive people super emotionally invested in the actual outcome. They try not to get too loud with their conversation. Adam starts sweating bullets when the game goes into overtime.

“Are you kidding me,” he says at the sky.

“He’s not gonna answer, big boy,” Reeve says. “Sorry.”

Adam scowls at him, wishing that he could black out and autopilot his way through this. 

“At least we’re winning,” Skeet observes. “It’d be awkward if you made this grand gesture right after he lost.”

“That’s the plot of a rom-com right there,” Mira says, grin so wide her face might break. 

“I don’t know,” Reeve says, “they look pretty close to catching up.”

They all glare at him, and say in unison, “Shut up, Reeve.”

–

The game ends and Adam feels his stomach drop to his feet. He stands, wipes his hands on his jeans and looks at his friends.

“I’m going to fuck this up,” he says confidently and starts down the concrete steps to the chainlink fence as the announcer comes over the mic.

“Kai Sanderson, please redirect your attention to the stands,” a deep voice says. 

Adam can see the line of his shoulders straighten and step away from his celebrating team, looking up at the stands with this complacent expression of mild curiosity. The row he was sitting in stands up, takes off their jackets and spell out one word:  **HOMECMOING?** Mira looks down her line, beaming proudly until she realizes Reeve and Skeet have managed to mix up their places.

Kai jogs up to Adam at the fence line.

“Kai Sanderson, please do the honors of accepting Adam’s request.” The announcer sounds like he’s laughing.

“Uh,” Adam says. “This might be awkward, and possibly friendship ruining. And I don’t want you to feel like you’re on the spot to say yes or anything! But I’ve liked you for three years and, I just,” he gestures vaguely behind him.

“Oh,” Kai’s grinning, cheekbones going pink. “Wow. I’m stupid.”

“How?” Adam asks. Kai lifts his shoulder.

“I kinda thought we were already dating.”

“What,” Adam says, mind tripping over itself, hastily backtracking through September and August, snapshots of all the time they’d spent together. 

Kai had taken him to the movies, to an ice cream shop, out stargazing, canoeing, for walks in the forest. He’d given Adam jerseys and jackets and picked him up in the mornings and at night, bringing him coffee and donuts and practicing Spanish for hours on the phone. 

“You met my parents,” Kai says, sheepish. “I asked if you wanted to see The Meg with me. Scary movies are a classic ploy. I thought you knew it was a date.”

“Is that why we shared a milkshake at Dairy Queen?”

Kai laughs. “Dude, that’s why you’re _wearing my jacket_."


End file.
